Red Lights

[jmisztal]

I thought I heard somewhere that reef organisms can not see red lighting - is this true? If so, would I be able to illuminate my tank at night with red lights (like incandescent party lights) and watch some of the night life? Thanks!

 

[Litoria]

This is probably true, and I have heard the same thing myself. The reasoning behind this is that red is one of the first colors to be filtered out as depth increases. The ability to recognize red is really not needed beyond the first few feet. As for the red bulb, I would recommend against it. I once used one for night viewing, and it seemd to cause a strange type of algae to grow. I switched to a small blue incandescent (my "moonlight") and I have had no algae problems since. The reef is never 100% dark, and having a little bit of light on your tank never hurt.